Wednesday Walk along the courtyards and embankment of the Neva River

The morning was sunny, but clouds were already roaming the sky near the horizon. The day was windy and it was obvious that the clouds were moving quite fast. Soon the sun disappeared behind the clouds and the day turned from sunny to cloudy, but it was still windy. I didn't feel like walking in the open windy space. I turned into courtyards whenever I found an open gate, and the solid stone walls of the houses protected me from the wind.

I turned into a courtyard near Theatre Square not only because I wished to find protection from the wind. I also remembered that I had seen something not quite ordinary in this courtyard the last time I passed through here. This staircase starts right under the archway of the backyard, there is no door to separate this staircase and the entryway space from the street. Of course, you can't do without a door, it would be too cold in winter. The door is located higher up. But I find this solution to the layout of the entranceway surprising. All neighbouring entrances are designed and built differently.

The steps of this staircase are made of natural stone. They are very old, the surface of the steps is uneven. In some places traces of repair are visible. Opposite this staircase there are wheel bollards (seen in the top photo), and the location of these bollards seems wrong. It would make more sense to place the bollards at the entrance to the archway. It appears that this house was rebuilt and we can see some remnants of the old layout of the building.The guidebook gives the date of construction of this house as 1871, but from a number of indications it appears that in 1871 the older buildings on the site were overhauled and merged into the new property.

The next courtyard is located on Galernaya Street. I like the different curvature of the arches in this courtyard, and I go into this courtyard sometimes to enjoy observing the complex geometry of the space. There are also two not quite conventional entryways present here (it just so happens that it was the entryway doors that were the focus of my attention during this walk). The conventional entrance is what we see most often - it's just a door, or a small porch of two or three steps and a door. This is also where the wooden vestibules were built in front of the entrance. This is an easy way to add some storage space for prams or bikes, but it is very rarely used. You are unlikely to be able to negotiate such an extension with the Management Company. These vestibules are artefacts, they were built a long time ago.

The next door would be almost ordinary if it weren't for the small garden near the entrance. This garden doesn't look too picturesque in early spring, but that will change in a few weeks. In the same courtyard is the gate of an old carriage barn with semi-circular windows at the top. See the bust in the right-hand window? This is where the sculptor's studio is located.

In another yard, I encountered several massive wheel bollards. One of these bollards appeared to be overturned. Here you can clearly see that the bottom of the bollard is more massive than the top. It is difficult to move or overturn, such bollards protect the corners of buildings. Perhaps there was some excavation work in this courtyard?

Another courtyard with complex geometry of arches. Here, too, there is a complex geometry of pipes, and some window openings are covered with shields.

At the end of the walk I come out on the embankment of the Neva River. The white spots on the pavement are not snow, they are shampoo. A car that washes the pavements with a special shampoo has just passed by. The overcast weather makes the landscape seem gloomy, but fishermen stand on the embankment in any weather. Smelt fishing season is starting, a small fish that is very tasty if fried immediately after catching it. The smell of smelt is similar to the smell of cucumbers. Unfortunately, smelt has become a local brand, and the price of this fish has risen so much that we rarely buy it now. But in my childhood, fried smelt was one of the signs of spring.

○	○
Smartphone	Google Pixel 3a
Location	Saint Petersburg, Russia

This is my entry for the #WednesdayWalk challenge by @tattoodjay.